And with at least three cold months left, they’re asking you to use caution.

“We just need everybody to kind of slow down a little bit, use common sense and make sure that they keep their family safe,” said Rita Reith, the spokesperson for IFD.

IFD responded to two fires Thursday morning. One house on North Beville Avenue is a total loss.

“We need people to really pay attention to what’s going on inside their home,” she said.

The cause of the North Beville Avenue fire is still under investigation. But, in the last two weeks, they’ve responded to grease fires, electrical fires and fires caused by improperly disposed of cigarettes.

And they’ve almost doubled their fatality rate.

“This is early, it’s early in December, our fatality rate has risen from four to seven in the last two weeks. That’s not acceptable to us,” she said.

In the cold months fires are most commonly caused by alternative heat sources.

“It’s never a good idea to use your appliances, such as a heater or a stove for heat in your home. That’s not what they’re intended for, it’s a dangerous practice to use. We don’t want people to do that,” she said.

IFD says the best thing you can do is to have a working smoke detector, never leave alternative sources of heat unattended or leave cooking grease on a stove. And have an evacuation plan with two ways to get out the house.

“If a fire occurs in your home, get out. call 911, don’t run back in the house to save pets or belongings. Just get out and let the firefighters arrive and do their job,” she said.

If you need help heating your home, Indianapolis and the state have programs available. Click here and here for more information.